Breathe
by Circus Clown
Summary: A very tough case has finally taken the toll on Captain Sharon Raydor. After hearing the confession, all she wants to be able to breathe again. Thank God Andy was there. *its my first story*


sadly, I don't own anything

This is my first FanFiction so please bear with me. Reviews will be highly appriciated. I intend this to be a standalone, but you can persuade me to add another chapter

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><p><em>"Ugh!" <em>I yelled as I ran my fingers through my hair to untangle the stubborn strands that wouldn't let my brush run through earlier. I closed my eyes then took a very deep breath.

No one deserved to die like that. Dana Martin was far too young. She did not deserve to get raped and murdered. She was only nine. Way too young to be stabbed, shot and hung from a ceiling fan. Cases like this were usually handled to Robbery/Homicide. They have far more experience than I do. Cases involving children have always been difficult for everyone. Not only for the Major Crimes squad, but for everyone.

Dana Martin's death has been one of the most brutal murders we have ever seen. Unfortunately Dana's father was no other than William Martin, a know-it-all lawyer who just so happens to be the lawyer of some of the richest men in the country, which means this crime scene belongs to Major Crimes.

To make things even more difficult, Chief Taylor had some of my old friends from FID watch us all throughout the investigation to see if I really was capable of running Major Crimes. According to Lieutenant Sanders, the new FID commanding officer, the trial period was up, and that they need to see if I was capable of leading a squad as honorable as Major Crimes.

It bugged me.

A lot.

I didn't need people watching my actions like a hall monitor, and I really didn't need them questioning my decisions regarding this case. I've been the commanding officer of this squad for almost three years. I'm pretty sure that what I'm doing is for the good of this case. But of course I didn't say any of that out loud. I was more than happy to cooperate, or so they thought. The good thing is that it's now all over. Dana was raped and brutally murdered by her mother's ex-lover. I thought the murder was the worst part of this whole mess, but as it turns out the motive was even more sickening.

_"You snuck in the house at 6:03 pm with the glass cutter that we found in your bag." _I grabbed the glass cutter from the evidence box and placed it on the table. _"to talk to Deborah Martin, but she wasn't home because it was only 6pm which means Deborah would be at work. You tried to sneak out, but it was too late. Dana had already seen you. She threatened to call the police, so you tried to get closer to her. Leaving your shoe print on Dana's school project." _I grabbed the cardboard with Mr. McGable's foot print from the evidence box. I saw how scared he looked. Anton McGable was only 23. 22 years Mrs. Deborah Martin's junior. _"Dana got scared so she ran away, but you obviously didn't want to get caught. I mean you just got out of jail. You were still on patrol. Breaking and entering could get you in very big trouble."_ I could tell that Mr. McGable really wanted to explain things from his point of view, but his lawyer obviously wouldn't let him. _"So you grabbed your gun, and shot Dana!"_ McGable started to get uncomfortable. He kept shifting his weight. I could also see the beads o sweat that ran down his face. _"Did you know you shot her some where near her spine? She was instantly paralyzed."_ You could definitely hear my voice cracking. This murder was definitely affecting me. _"Then you ran down to check on her. Surprisingly she was still breathing, so you grabbed her leg and dragged her to the closest room. Which happens to be William Martin's office. Did you know your grip was far too tight? You broke her leg." _Now I grabbed what ever was left inside the evidence box. _"You_ _raped her! When you were done, you grabbed her by the neck then tied rope on her neck."_ I tried my best not to cry, but my voice was obviously giving in. I guess I'm not as heartless as everyone thought. _"Then you hung her on the ceiling fan. Then you found Mr. Martin's wasp injection knife. After you stabbed her. Tell me Mr. McGable. Did you even know what a wasp injection knife was capable of? Did you expect her to blow up?"_ I grabbed the crime scene photos and slid it across the table. _"What the hell are these? You expect me to"_ Mr. Cross, Anton McGable's lawyer, couldn't even finish his sentence. He was definitely as disturbed as we were. He looked at his client with disgust. _"We've already matched Mr. McGable's finger prints to those we found in the crime scene. It's over. Originally, I would offer you a deal, but DDA Hobbs doesn't think she can offer you a deal."_ I could see the shock in McGable's face. I was never for death penalty. No crime is worth another life, but then after seeing Dana, Anton McGable deserves to die just as brutally as he killed her. "Please" McGable pleaded. I shook my head._ "Nothing you say can get you out of this."_

_"But wait! What if I tell you why I did it?"_

"_I_ _already_ _know_ why _you did it, but one thing that bothers me what the hell were you_ _thinking while you did it? Dana was nine!"_ I suddenly and uncharacteristically yelled at our suspect. Oh God. _"Deborah was mine! She said she loved me! I was so hurt when she broke up with me." _McGable was crying now. Normally seeing our suspect cry would soften my tone, but there's something about this case that just stung. There is nothing he could say that would make me feel sorry for him._ "That bitch, Deb,_ _deserves to suffer!"_ Anger clearly blurred my vision. I stood up and pushed my chair against the wall. I grabbed the crime scene photos on the table and hit McGable with it. _"Did Dana deserve it? She was only nine! She was a little girl! Didn't you think of that?"_

The next thing I knew Andy came bursting into the interview room. _"Captain"_ His eyes were a darker shade of brown. It wasn't the same shade as it normally was. It was almost black. It didn't have the spark that it usually had. He placed his hand on my shoulder. I felt my muscles lose some of the tension. _"Sharon"_ He whispered to me as he led me out to the hallway. _"Please calm down."_ He added.

I took a deep breath then tears started forming in the corners of my eyes. I quickly swung my hand to my mouth to cover the sobs that were slowly coming out of my mouth. A teardrop fell down my cheek. Andy took a step closer to me. I could tell that he wanted to wrap me in his arms, and you have no idea just how much I wanted that. But as soon as he got really close, I just had to get away. I quickly ran to the ladies room. I don't know why but I just felt like I can be alone there. It's unconventional and odd though. I would usually chose to stay in my office if I needed to be alone, but right now, I just felt trapped. Being in the murder room would be difficult. Especially because FID officers and Chief Taylor saw my outburst in the interview room. As soon as I got to the restroom, I went over to the sink and stared at my reflection. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I imagine the horrible experience our latest victim might have encountered. With cases like this, I sometimes want to go back to FID. The death of a child is just so much harder to deal with. Especially when you learn about their lives. I didn't do this back in FID.

Dana Martin was a gold medalist swimmer. According to her coach, she would've been good enough to go to the Olympics. She was also a very good pianist. She composed some songs and her recital videos were playing non stop on Julio's computer. I guess he loved Dana's songs just as much as I did. Suddenly my eyelids felt heavy again. I had the urge close my eyes, so I did. I threw my head back. Carefully of course. Trying not to worsen the stiff neck that this case had given me.

_"Mommy! Mommy! Look!"_ A nine year old Dana yelled. _"Mommy look!"_ She said even louder holding her shiny bronze medal up. It's crazy how I memorize the Martin's home video. _"That's nice."_ You can hear her mother say with her irritatingly uninterested tone. _"My teacher said that I'm really good!" _Dana said proudly. She looked so adorable with a small pink bow trying to prevent her delicate brown hair from covering her beautiful green eyes. Her smile was oddly familiar. Dana had the exact same smile as my Emily. Honestly, from the pictures her father showed us, she does look a while lot like Emily, but there were some differences. Dana's eyes were greener than Emily's and Dana's hair was notably a unique shade of brown. It was almost red. Dana looked like me. When I was little. I sighed. I felt a my lips suddenly form a small smile. Emily used to brag about all her awards. She is a great dancer. She has a room filled off recognitions. Which reminds me, I should call her tonight. Maybe Ricky too.

But what really bothered me was her mother didn't even bother to care. She was completely uncooperative. We didn't even know about the affair until William Martin agreed to letting us check his firm's computer. Who would've thought. Mrs. Martin was sleeping with her husband's intern on her nine year old daughter's bed. While Dana was at swimming practice. It was just so cruel. Sick. Disgusting. Inhuman. That was my squad's initial reaction, and I completely agree. That woman shouldn't even have a kid. She's selfish and inconsiderate. She did not shed one tear for Dana. She didn't even bother to apologize to her husband. The only thing she said to him was _"it_ _wasn't me."_ Can you believe it? It's inhuman. My children mean everything to me. I can't even imagine what I would do if that happened to one of them. I just can't believe she gets to walk away freely.

I slowly open my eyes. I look like a complete mess. I've been up for about 22 hours. My mascara was now all over my cheeks. My nose was red and my hair was all over the place. I squinted my eyes then took off my glasses. I got a handful of tissue paper to remove the tear stains my mascara has left. When I got all my make-up off, I was in no condition to reapply them. I just turned the knob on the faucet and splashed some water on my face. I got a hair tie from my bag, and I tied my hair into a neat ponytail. I just realized that I never tied my hair like this since I was assigned to be the commanding officer of FID.

I took a deep breath and I looked at my reflection once again. I was nervous to go out. Reality hit me. I threatened a murder suspect. I know that it's not against the rules but it was definitely wrong. Especially because I am a commanding officer. Damn it. I screwed up. Tears were threatening me again. I could feel them forming in the corners of my eyes. My teeth sunk on my bottom lip and I slowly opened the door. To my surprise, Andy was right outside.

_"Hey." _He smirked. _"You were in there for awhile."_

_"You waited?"_

"_Of_ _course."_ I took some comfort in that. _"Taylor wanted me to tell you that Sykes and Sanchez would bring McGable to booking. Sanders said that you didn't break any rules. You lost your temper, but that's it."_ He smiled. _"You're off the hook"_ Andy has always had my back. He knew me more than any of my other close friends. For the past few months, we've had at least two dinners every week. Friendly non-date dinners. We would talk for hours about our children, what they're up to, our crazy exes, technically we talk about everything. I think it's safe to say that I know everything about this man. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have feelings for him. I obviously do. He's a good guy. Extremely passionate. Although, I can't say that my feelings are enough for me risk my career for him. Dating my subordinate would really push a FID investigation, and people would start to question my judgement and professionalism.

_"Well thank you Lieutenant. I'm fine. I just needed-"_ he didn't even let me finish my sentence.

_"Oh I know. I just thought you'd like some company." _I gave him a content and soft smile. My stare lasted longer than it should've been. "_Thank you Andy. For everything."_ Right now we're suppose to be Captain and Lieutenant. Not Sharon and Andy, but I just couldn't help it. He's always been there for me.

_"Why don't I take you home?" _My eyes caught up with him again. _"It has been a long day and you look tired."_ I nodded. He started to walk away. I knew he wouldn't leave me, but I just had the urge to be near him. I always felt comfortable and safe when I'm with him. I giggled. If someone told me that I was in love with Andy Flynn ten years ago, I would have laughed my head off, but now I can't even imagine not having him beside me.

_"Andy?"_ I grabbed his arm.

_"Yeah?"_ I placed my left hand on his chest and I could feel his heart beating.

_"Maybe we can go for that dinner you owe me"_ I said shyly.

I relaxed when I saw the smile forming on his face. _"I'd like that and I know a place near your building."_

He hit the button to the elevator.

"_In one condition" _I hesitated. I heard myself and I blushed furiously. Was I flirting?

"_Anything Sharon"_

_"This time could we call this dinner what it really is?" _I cringed up my nose. I sound really desperate, but the smirk on Andy's face made me feel comfortable.

_"And what would that be?"_ The elevator doors opened and we stepped in. Good. We're alone. Andy hit the button to the parking lot and he looked back at me. His stare lingered. Which made my heart skip a beat.

_"A date. Let's call this dinner a date."_

_"Sure, but how will I introduce you?" _He's reply made me giggle.


End file.
